TSMChttp://www.pcper.com
PC Perspectivehttp://www.pcper.com/images/podcast-logo-600x600.pngenARM and TSMC are headed for 10nmhttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/ARM-and-TSMC-are-headed-10nm
<p>ARM and TSMC are moving ahead at an impressive pace, now predicting 10nm FinFET designs taping out possibly in the fourth quarter of 2015.&nbsp; That could even be possible considering how quickly they incorporated FinFET to move from 20nm SoC to 16nm.&nbsp; The&nbsp; the ARMv8-A processor architecture will have a few less transistors than a high end CPU which does help their process adoption move more quickly than AMD or Intel but with AMD partnering up with ARM there is the possibility of seeing this new ARM architecture in AMD chips in the not too distant future.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20141003PR202.html">As DigiTimes points out</a>, there are many benefits that have come from this partnership between ARM and TSMC.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/ARM-and-TSMC-are-headed-10nm" class="inline-image-link" title="View: index.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2014-10-06/index.jpg" alt="index.jpg" title="index.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="299" height="168" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;ARM and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have announced a new multi-year agreement that will deliver ARMv8-A processor IP optimized for TSMC 10nm FinFET process technology. Because of the success in scaling from 20nm SoC to 16nm FinFET, ARM and TSMC have decided to collaborate again for 10FinFET.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/03/desktop_schmesktop_microsoft_reveals_next_windows_server/" target="_blank">Desktop, schmesktop: Microsoft reveals next WINDOWS SERVER @ The Register</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2373854/botnet-hits-over-17-000-os-x-users-via-reddit" target="_blank">Apple updates malware definitions to protect OS X users from iWorm Botnet @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/03/ibm_and_nvidia_team_on_power8_servers/" target="_blank">IBM goes gunning for Intel with Nvidia GPU-charged Power8 servers @ The Register? </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2374046/android-wear-can-now-boot-windows-95" target="_blank">Android Wear can now boot Windows 95 @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://techgage.com/article/a-look-at-adobes-creative-cloud-fall-2014-update/" target="_blank">A Look at Adobe&rsquo;s Creative Cloud Fall 2014 Update @ Techgage</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=830" target="_blank">Tech ARP 2014 Mega Giveaway Contest</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/ARM-and-TSMC-are-headed-10nm" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/ARM-and-TSMC-are-headed-10nm#commentsGeneral Tech10nmarmarmv8-aFinFETTSMCMon, 06 Oct 2014 16:30:37 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom61421 at http://www.pcper.comTSMC scores a big win over Samsunghttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-scores-big-win-over-Samsung
<p>According to the inside information that The Inquirer acquired, the next generation of Apple&#39;s SoC will be fabbed by TSMC not Samsung.&nbsp; The A8 will be a 64bit quad-core processor of unknown speed with a GPU described as a four-cluster configuration similar to the PowerVR G6430.&nbsp; This is not terribly surprising considering the abusive relationship that Apple and Samsung have developed over the past few years and will certainly swell TSMC&#39;s coffers.&nbsp; Even better TSMC will also pick up the manufacturing other parts of a variety of Apple devices, <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/06/apple_a8_made_by_tsmc/">check the (rumoured) list out here</a>.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/TSMC-scores-big-win-over-Samsung" class="inline-image-link" title="View: index.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2014-03-07/index.jpg" alt="index.jpg" title="index.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="245" height="206" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;The next generation of Apple&#39;s custom system on a chip (SoC) for mobile devices will be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) rather than Samsung, and so will several other chips to be used in the forthcoming iPhone 6, a report has claimed.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2333049/microsoft-will-issue-the-penultimate-patch-for-windows-xp-in-march-patch-tuesday" target="_blank">Microsoft will issue the penultimate patch for Windows XP in March Patch Tuesday @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/07/windows_8_1_update_1_leak/" target="_blank">Want April&#39;s Windows 8.1 Update? Leaked links let you grab it NOW @ The Register</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/06/cisco_patches_enterprise_wireless_vulns/" target="_blank">Cisco patches enterprise wireless vulns @ The Register</a></li>
<li><a href="http://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/soap-the-home-automation-router-and-kickstarter-scam/" target="_blank">SOAP: The Home Automation Router And Kickstarter Scam @ Hack a Day</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-scores-big-win-over-Samsung" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-scores-big-win-over-Samsung#commentsGeneral TechapplerumourSamsungTSMCFri, 07 Mar 2014 19:02:31 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom59751 at http://www.pcper.comTSMC's ultraviolet lithography was a little too extremehttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMCs-ultraviolet-lithography-was-little-too-extreme
<p>A recent test at TSMC proved their experimental extreme UV lithography process is a little too extreme after a misaligned laser caused serious internal damage to their prototype.&nbsp; This is rather sad news for TSMC as EUV has been touted as the best way to reduce the chip making process below 10nm.&nbsp; Intel has been hedging their bets about EUV, they have invested heavily in the development of the technology but recently have teamed up with ASML Holdings and Arkema to work on directed self assembly, where the chips are convinced to form out of solution on a molecular basis.&nbsp; We are not quite talking Von Neumann machines but it is certainly within the same realm of thought.&nbsp; Other researchers are working on electron etching; forsaking light and its comparatively large wavelength for much smaller etching tools.&nbsp; You can read more about how companies such as Intel are trying to <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/25/asml_euv_scanner_fails_at_tsmc_and_intel_investigates_dsa/">keep Moore&#39;s law alive at The Register</a>.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/TSMCs-ultraviolet-lithography-was-little-too-extreme" class="inline-image-link" title="View: article_img.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2014-02-27/article_img.jpg" alt="article_img.jpg" title="article_img.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="300" height="250" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;A recent test of the next-generation chip-etching technology known as extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) has come a cropper at chip-baking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&amp;px=MTYxNDc" target="_blank">AMD Press Talks Up Major Open-Source Linux Driver Features, But Fails @ Phoronix</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/review/2331242/galaxy-s5-vs-iphone-5s-specs-comparison" target="_blank">Galaxy S5 vs iPhone 5S specs comparison @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/26/boeing_black/" target="_blank">&#39;Black Phone&#39;: This handset will SELF-DESTRUCT in 30 seconds @ The Register</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/25/office_2013_sp1/" target="_blank">Microsoft&#39;s Office 2013 Service Pack 1 slips out with fixes, features @ The Register</a></li>
<li><a href="http://techreport.com/news/26090/mantle-no-more-gdc-sessions-point-to-the-next-directx" target="_blank">Mantle no more? GDC sessions point to the next DirectX @ The Tech Report</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/25/blackberry_brings_back_call_end_keys_and_touchpad/" target="_blank">BlackBerry brings back call, end keys, touchpad to Q20 keyboard cutie @ The Register</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2331362/google-makes-it-easy-for-gmail-users-to-dump-newsletters" target="_blank">Google makes it easy for Gmail users to dump newsletters @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://hackaday.com/2014/02/27/taste-o-vision-is-now-a-thing/" target="_blank">Taste-O-Vision Is Now A Thing @ Hack a Day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://techreport.com/review/26093/the-tr-podcast-150-from-mantel-to-maxwell-and-beyond" target="_blank">The TR Podcast 150: From Mantle to Maxwell, and beyond</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMCs-ultraviolet-lithography-was-little-too-extreme" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMCs-ultraviolet-lithography-was-little-too-extreme#commentsGeneral TechDSAeuvIntelphotolithographyTSMCThu, 27 Feb 2014 16:37:13 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom59677 at http://www.pcper.comARM Unveils Cortex-A17: New (Refreshed) IP for 2015http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/ARM-Unveils-Cortex-A17-New-Refreshed-IP-2015
<div>ARM is an interesting little company. &nbsp;Years ago people would have no idea who you are talking about, but now there is a much greater appreciation for the company. &nbsp;Their PR group is really starting to get the hang of getting their name out. &nbsp;One thing that ARM does that is significantly different from what other companies do is announce products far in advance of when they will actually be seeing the light of day. &nbsp;Today they are announcing the Cortex-A17 IP that will ship in 2015.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/reviews/Processors/ARM-Unveils-Cortex-A17-New-Refreshed-IP-2015" class="inline-image-link" title="View: arm_01.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/review/2014-02-11/arm_01.jpg" alt="arm_01.jpg" title="arm_01.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="323" /></a></div></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>ARM really does not have much of a choice in how they announce their technology, primarily because they rely on 3rd parties to actually ship products. &nbsp;ARM licenses their IP to guys like Samsung, Qualcomm, Ti, NVIDIA, etc. and then wait for them to actually build and ship product. &nbsp;I guess part of pre-announcing these bits of IP provides a greater push for their partners to actually license that specific IP due to end users and handset makers showing interest? &nbsp;Whatever the case, it is interesting to see where ARM is heading with their technology.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The Cortex-A17 can be viewed as a more supercharged version of the Cortex-A12, but with features missing from that particular product. &nbsp;The big advancement over the A12 is that the A17 can be utilized in a big.LITTLE configuration with Cortex-A7 IP. &nbsp;The A17 is more power optimized as well so it can go into a sleep state faster than the A12, and it also features more memory controller tweaks to improve performance while again lowering power consumption.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/reviews/Processors/ARM-Unveils-Cortex-A17-New-Refreshed-IP-2015" class="inline-image-link" title="View: arm_02.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/review/2014-02-11/arm_02.jpg" alt="arm_02.jpg" title="arm_02.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="326" /></a></div></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>In terms of overall performance it gets a pretty big boost as compared to the very latest Cortex-A9r4 designs (such as the Tegra 4i). &nbsp;Numbers bandied about by ARM show that the A17 is around 60% faster than the A9, and around 40% faster than the A12. &nbsp;These numbers may or may not jive with real-world experience due to differences in handset and tablet designs, but theoretically speaking they look to be in the ballpark. &nbsp;The A17 should be close in overall performance to A15 based SOCs. &nbsp;A15s are shipping now, but they are not as power efficient as what ARM is promising with the A17.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><a href="http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/ARM-Unveils-Cortex-A17-New-Refreshed-IP-2015">Continue reading our overview of the new ARM Cortex-A17 processor announcement!!</a></div>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/ARM-Unveils-Cortex-A17-New-Refreshed-IP-2015" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/ARM-Unveils-Cortex-A17-New-Refreshed-IP-2015#commentsProcessorsa12A15A17A9armcortexGLOBALFOUNDRIESmaliT720TSMCTue, 11 Feb 2014 19:02:41 +0000Josh Walrath59527 at http://www.pcper.comIBM Also Considers Leaving Chip Manufacturinghttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/IBM-Also-Considers-Leaving-Chip-Manufacturing
<p>Well this is something which I expect they will not sell to Lenovo...</p>
<p>IBM, one of the world&#39;s most advanced chip fabrication companies with the capability to manufacture on a 22nm node, <a href="http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/ibm-reportedly-considering-sale-of-chip-manufacturing-operations/">is looking to sell this division</a>. According to The Financial Times, via Ars Technica, the company selected Goldman Sachs to seek options. They are primarily looking for interested buyers but would also consider finding a business partner to offload the division into a joint venture.</p>
<p>The two initial candidates are GLOBALFOUNDRIES and TSMC.</p>
<p align="CENTER"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/IBM-Also-Considers-Leaving-Chip-Manufacturing" class="inline-image-link" title="View: ibm-fab-6-620x465.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2014-02-07/ibm-fab-6-620x465.jpg" alt="ibm-fab-6-620x465.jpg" title="ibm-fab-6-620x465.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="452" /></a></div></p>
<p align="CENTER"><i>Image Credit: <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/inside-ibms-300mm-chip-fab-photos-7000008903/">IBM via ZDNet</a> (Outside photographers are not allowed inside their fab lab)</i><span style="font-style: normal">.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-style: normal">I</span><span style="font-style: normal">BM is not willing to get rid of its </span><span style="font-style: normal">chip design ability. IBM creates many chips, often based on its own </span><span style="font-style: normal">&quot;Power Architecture&quot;</span><span style="font-style: normal">.</span><span style="font-style: normal"> This </span><span style="font-style: normal">trademark comes wi</span><span style="font-style: normal">th their </span><span style="font-style: normal">RISC-based instruction sets which rival ARM and x86. </span><span style="font-style: normal">It forms the basis of the Xbox 360, the Cell processor found in the PS3 (and rarely elsewhere), and the last three Nintendo game consoles</span><span style="font-style: normal"> starting with the Gamecube. </span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-style: normal">Despite designing </span><span style="font-style: normal">all of the above</span><span style="font-style: normal"> chips, </span><span style="font-style: normal">only some were actually fabricated by IBM.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-style: normal">Personally, I am not sure how serious the earlier mentioned potential buyers are.</span><span style="font-style: normal"> It could have easily been someone who looked at the list of leading foundries and picked the top two.</span><span style="font-style: normal"> TSMC is not even a member of &quot;the Common Platform&quot; alliance</span><span style="font-style: normal">, not to mention how small IBM is compared to them, so I cannot see much reason for TSMC to bother</span><span style="font-style: normal">. </span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-style: normal">GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a different story</span><span style="font-style: normal">,</span><span style="font-style: normal"> </span><span style="font-style: normal">It </span><span style="font-style: normal">would make sense for them to want that part of IBM (Josh notes they even share some resource centers). Still, </span><span style="font-style: normal">the both of us wondered if they could afford the deal. </span><span style="font-style: normal">ATIC, parent company of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, </span><span style="font-style: normal">might be able to get the money from somewhere - but would they? They purchased Charter only just recently. Now, if they simply enter a partnership with IBM, that might be a different story than an outright purchase.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-style: normal">Fabrication is hard and expensive.</span><span style="font-style: normal"> Creating a foundry is about $10 billion, give or take a few billion depending on yield, and changing your equipment for new nodes or wafer sizes is not much cheaper. I can see IBM, a company that is increasing concerned with high profitability, wanting to let someone else deal with at least some of the volatility.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-style: normal">IBM has not commented on this rumor.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/IBM-Also-Considers-Leaving-Chip-Manufacturing" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/IBM-Also-Considers-Leaving-Chip-Manufacturing#commentsGeneral TechGLOBALFOUNDRIESIBMTSMCFri, 07 Feb 2014 18:18:50 +0000Scott Michaud59522 at http://www.pcper.comTSMC Begins 16nm FinFET-based 3D Chip Productionhttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-Begins-16nm-FinFET-based-3D-Chip-Production
<p>Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) is one of the few chip fabrication companies in the world (especially when you omit the memory producers, etc.). Their customers include: AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Broadcom, and even <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/03/intel_outsourcing_some_atom_ma.html">a few Intel Atom processors</a> have come out of their lines at one point. They will take money from just about anyone who wants a chip.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/TSMC-Begins-16nm-FinFET-based-3D-Chip-Production" class="inline-image-link" title="View: tsmc.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2013-12-14/tsmc.jpg" alt="tsmc.jpg" title="tsmc.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="402" /></a></div></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2013/12/13/tsmc-16nm/1">According to Bit-Tech</a>, a few customers will even have access to 16nm before the end of the year.</p>
<p>The catch, which of course there is one, is that production runs will be very small. We would love to see a gigantic run of new AMD or NVIDIA GPUs based on 16nm but that will not be the case (and not just because Volcanic Islands and Maxwell are both 2Xnm products). The first customers, while otherwise anonymous, will be interested in mobile systems-on-a-chip (SoCs).</p>
<p>On the plus side, when future 1Xnm designs come out, TSMC&#39;s production could be reasonably caught up to make a smooth launch.</p>
<p>Intel, the current leader in the fabrication world, targeted a slightly smaller 14nm process and have already begun producing a few odds and ends at that level. Full production has not even really started yet.</p>
<p>Just so you can get an idea of the complexity we are dealing with: 16nm fabrication creates details that are just ~32 atoms in width.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-Begins-16nm-FinFET-based-3D-Chip-Production" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-Begins-16nm-FinFET-based-3D-Chip-Production#commentsGeneral TechProcessors16nmprocess nodeTSMCSat, 14 Dec 2013 08:08:39 +0000Scott Michaud59115 at http://www.pcper.comMore Talks About Process Technologyhttp://www.pcper.com/news/Editorial/More-Talks-About-Process-Technology
<p><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Josh Walrath titled the intro of his &quot;<a href="http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/Next-Gen-Graphics-and-Process-Migration-20-nm-and-Beyond">Next Gen Graphics and Process Migration: 20nm and Beyond</a>&quot; </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">editorial</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">: &quot;The Really Good Times are Over&quot;.</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> Moore&#39;s Law predicts that, with each ~</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">2 year</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> generation, we will be able to double the transistor count of our integrated circuits.</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> It does not, however, set a </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">price.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/Editorial/More-Talks-About-Process-Technology" class="inline-image-link" title="View: fab8_mach.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2013-12-08/fab8_mach.jpg" alt="fab8_mach.jpg" title="fab8_mach.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="395" /></a></div></span></span></span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><em>A look into GlobalFoundries.</em></p>
<p><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">&quot;Moore&#39;s Law is expen</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">s</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">ive&quot; </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"><a href="http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/Computex-2013-Intel-Keynote">remarked Tom Kilroy during his Computex 2013 keynote</a>.</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Intel</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> spend</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">s</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> about $12 billion USD in capital, every year, </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">to keep the transistors coming. </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">It shows. </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">They are </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">significantly</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> ahead of the</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">ir peers in terms of process technology. </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Intel is a very profitable company who can squirrel away justifications for these research and development expenses across numerous products and services.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">The benefits of a process shrink are typically three-fold: increased performance, decreased power consumption, and lower cost per chip (as a single</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> wafer is better utilized</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">).</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Chairman and CTO of Broadcom, Henry Samueli,</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"><a href="http://www.itworld.com/hardware/385701/moores-law-blowout-sale-ending-broadcoms-cto-says">told reporters that manufacturing complexity</a> is pushing chip developers into a situation where one of those three benefits must be sacrificed for the other two.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">You are suddenly no longer searching for an overall better solution. You are searching for a more optimized solution in many respects but with inherent tradeoffs.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">He expects </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">GlobalFoundries and TSMC to catch up to Intel and &quot;the cost curve should come back to normal&quot;.</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> Still, he sees another wall coming up when we hit the 5nm point (you can count the width or height of these transistors, in atoms, using two hands) and even more problems beyond that.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/Editorial/More-Talks-About-Process-Technology" class="inline-image-link" title="View: photonic-crystal.png"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2013-12-08/photonic-crystal.png" alt="photonic-crystal.png" title="photonic-crystal.png" class="pcper-inline" width="300" height="179" /></a></div></span></span></span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><em>Image Credit: <a href="http://www.ionas.eu/research/reconfigurable-optofluidic-photonic-crystal-circuits/">IONAS</a></em></p>
<p><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">From my perspective: at some point, we will need to say goodbye to electronic integrated circuits. The theorists are already working on </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">how we can develop integrated circuits using non-electronic materials. For instance, during the end of my Physics undergraduate degree, </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">my thesis adviser was working on nonlinear optics within photonic crystals</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">; waveguides which transmit optical frequency light rather than radio frequency electric waves.</span></span></span> Of course I do not believe his research was on Optical Integrated Circuits, but that is not really the point.</p>
<p><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Humanity is great at solving problems when backs are against walls. </span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">But, what problem will they try?</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Power consumption? Cost? Performance?</span></span></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/Editorial/More-Talks-About-Process-Technology" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/Editorial/More-Talks-About-Process-Technology#commentsEditorialGeneral TechbroadcomGLOBALFOUNDRIESTSMCSun, 08 Dec 2013 09:11:40 +0000Scott Michaud59074 at http://www.pcper.comQualcomm tries to play matchmaker between Samsung Electronics and Globalfoundrieshttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Qualcomm-tries-play-matchmaker-between-Samsung-Electronics-and-Globalfoundries
<p>Qualcomm is looking to diversify their supply chain and move away from dependence on TSMC and their 28nm node.&nbsp; They have some qualifications for their suitor to meet and being one of the larger customers means that they just might get it.&nbsp; Their requirement is for the rumoured Samsung and GLOBALFOUNDRIES partnership to become stable and for Samsung to use GF as a sub-contractor to make chips for Apple.&nbsp; If you believe all the hints we are getting the partnership could grow and it would give Qualcomm a supplier who is financially stable and still has enough free resources to fab Qualcomm&#39;s chips in the desired volume.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20131118PD211.html">This is the news out of DigiTimes this morning</a>.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/Qualcomm-tries-play-matchmaker-between-Samsung-Electronics-and-Globalfoundries" class="inline-image-link" title="View: qualcomm.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2013-11-18/qualcomm.jpg" alt="qualcomm.jpg" title="qualcomm.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="275" height="183" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;Qualcomm reportedly hopes Samsung Electronics and Globalfoundries can form an alliance, as the fabless IC vendor seeks to reduce its reliance on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for its advanced chips, according to industry sources.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/15/stealthy_linux_backdoor/" target="_blank">Linux backdoor squirts code into SSH to keep its badness buried @ The Register</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2307739/microsoft-launches-a-3d-printing-app-for-windows-81" target="_blank">Microsoft launches a 3D printing app for Windows 8.1 @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/15/salesforce_massive_outage/" target="_blank">&#39;Planned maintenance&#39; CRIPPLES nearly HALF of all Salesforce instances in Europe, US @ The Register</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/16/blubbering_ballmer_admits_he_was_the_problem_at_microsoft/" target="_blank">&#39;I&#39;m BIG, I&#39;m BALD and I&#39;m LOUD!&#39; Blubbering Ballmer admits HE was Microsoft&#39;s problem @ The Register</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/awesome-blizzcon-2013-cosplay-pictures-by-legit-reviews_128381" target="_blank">Awesome BlizzCon 2013 CosPlay Pictures By Legit Reviews</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/network/37799-asus-rt56u" target="_blank">ASUS RT-AC56U Dual Band Wireless-AC1200 Gigabit Router Review @HiTech Legion</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Qualcomm-tries-play-matchmaker-between-Samsung-Electronics-and-Globalfoundries" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Qualcomm-tries-play-matchmaker-between-Samsung-Electronics-and-Globalfoundries#commentsGeneral TechGLOBALFOUNDRIESqualcommSamsungTSMCMon, 18 Nov 2013 17:44:42 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom58934 at http://www.pcper.comNext Gen Graphics and Process Migration: 20 nm and Beyondhttp://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/Next-Gen-Graphics-and-Process-Migration-20-nm-and-Beyond
<p>We really do not realize how good we had it.&nbsp; Sure, we could apply that to budget surpluses and the time before the rise of global terrorism, but in this case I am talking about the predictable advancement of graphics due to both design expertise and improvements in process technology.&nbsp; Moore&rsquo;s law has been exceptionally kind to graphics.&nbsp; We can look back and when we plot the course of these graphics companies, they have actually outstripped Moore in terms of transistor density from generation to generation.&nbsp; Most of this is due to better tools and the expertise gained in what is still a fairly new endeavor as compared to CPUs (the first true 3D accelerators were released in the 1993/94 timeframe).</p>
<p>The complexity of a modern 3D chip is truly mind-boggling.&nbsp; To get a good idea of where we came from, we must look back at the first generations of products that we could actually purchase.&nbsp; The original 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics was comprised of a raster chip and a texture chip, each contained approximately 1 million transistors (give or take) and were made on a then available .5 micron process (we shall call it 500 nm from here on out to give a sense of perspective with modern process technology).&nbsp; The chips were clocked between 47 and 50 MHz (though often could be clocked up to 57 MHz by going into the init file and putting in &ldquo;SET SST_GRXCLK=57&rdquo;&hellip; btw, SST stood for Sellers/Smith/Tarolli, the founders of 3Dfx).&nbsp; This revolutionary graphics card at the time could push out 47 to 50 megapixels and had 4 MB of VRAM and was released in the beginning of 1996.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/reviews/Editorial/Next-Gen-Graphics-and-Process-Migration-20-nm-and-Beyond" class="inline-image-link" title="View: righteous3d_01.JPG"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/review/2013-10-22/righteous3d_01.JPG" alt="righteous3d_01.JPG" title="righteous3d_01.JPG" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="400" /></a></div></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><strong><em>My first 3D graphics card was the Orchid Righteous 3D. &nbsp;Voodoo Graphics was really the first successful consumer 3D graphics card. &nbsp;Yes, there were others before it, but Voodoo Graphics had the largest impact of them all.</em></strong></p>
<p>In 1998 3Dfx released the Voodoo 2, and it was a significant jump in complexity from the original.&nbsp; These chips were fabricated on a 350 nm process.&nbsp; There were three chips to each card, one of which was the raster chip and the other two were texture chips.&nbsp; At the top end of the product stack was the 12 MB cards.&nbsp; The raster chip had 4 MB of VRAM available to it while each texture chip had 4 MB of VRAM for texture storage.&nbsp; Not only did this product double performance from the Voodoo Graphics, it was able to run in single card configurations at 800x600 (as compared to the max 640x480 of the Voodoo Graphics).&nbsp; This is the same time as when NVIDIA started to become a very aggressive competitor with the Riva TnT and ATI was about to ship the Rage 128.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/Next-Gen-Graphics-and-Process-Migration-20-nm-and-Beyond">Read the entire editorial here!</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/Next-Gen-Graphics-and-Process-Migration-20-nm-and-Beyond" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/Next-Gen-Graphics-and-Process-Migration-20-nm-and-Beyond#commentsEditorial3dfxamdatiFD-SOIFinFETGLOBALFOUNDRIESIntelnvidiaPD-SOIrenditiontri-gateTSMCUMCTue, 22 Oct 2013 21:02:04 +0000Josh Walrath58699 at http://www.pcper.com16nm FinFET ARM processors from TSMC soonhttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/16nm-FinFET-ARM-processors-TSMC-soon
<p><a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130402PR206.html">While what DigiTimes is reporting on</a> is only the first tape out, it is still very interesting to see TSMC hitting 16nm process testing and doing it with the 3D transistor technology we have come to know as FinFET.&nbsp; It was a 64-bit ARM Cortex-A57 chip that was created using this process, unfortunately we did not get much information about what comprised the chip apart from the slide you can see below.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/16nm-FinFET-ARM-processors-TSMC-soon" class="inline-image-link" title="View: Cortex_A57_600.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2013-04-02/Cortex_A57_600.jpg" alt="Cortex_A57_600.jpg" title="Cortex_A57_600.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="512" /></a></div></p>
<p>As it can be inferred by the mention that it can run alongside big.LITTLE chips it will not be of the same architecture, nor will it be confined to cellphones.&nbsp; This does help reinforce TSMC&#39;s position in the market for keeping up with the latest fabrication trends and another solid ARM contract will also keep the beancounters occupied.&nbsp; You can&#39;t expect to see these chips immediately but this is a solid step towards an new process being mastered by TSMC.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/16nm-FinFET-ARM-processors-TSMC-soon" class="inline-image-link" title="View: 18198_Cortex-A50-big.LITTLE-sum.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2013-04-02/18198_Cortex-A50-big.LITTLE-sum.jpg" alt="18198_Cortex-A50-big.LITTLE-sum.jpg" title="18198_Cortex-A50-big.LITTLE-sum.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="429" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;The achievement is the first milestone in the collaboration between ARM and TSMC to jointly optimize the 64-bit ARMv8 processor series on TSMC FinFET process technologies, the companies said. The pair has teamed up to produce Cortex-A57 processors and libraries to support early customer implementations on 16nm FinFET for ARM-based SoCs.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/13/04/02/2015254/wiping-a-smartphone-still-leaves-data-behind" target="_blank">Wiping a Smartphone Still Leaves Data Behind @ Slashdot</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130401PD219.html" target="_blank">ARM processor competition to fire up @ DigiTimes</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130401PD219.html" target="_blank">Physicists bang the drum for quantum memory @ The Register</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/5313/intel-haswell-socket-h-heatsink-requirements-and-overclocking-thoughts/index.html" target="_blank">Intel Haswell Socket H Heatsink Requirements and Overclocking Thoughts @ Tweaktown</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://techgage.com/news/killing-your-internet-with-killer-ethernet/" target="_blank">Killing Your Internet with Killer Ethernet @ Techgage</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=770" target="_blank">Backdoors Found In Bitlocker, FileVault and TrueCrypt? @ TechARP</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://kitguru.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=bfb2b902b5fb045ad6f841f98&amp;id=7ce456b677&amp;e=d6979df7a5" target="_blank">Win ASRock FM2A85X Extreme 6 &amp; Seasonic M12II-850 @ Kitguru</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.eteknix.com/win-enermax-goodies-from-insomnia-i48/" target="_blank">Win Enermax Goodies From Insomnia i48 @ eTeknix</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.nikktech.com/main/contests/1651-21-synology-joint-giveaway" target="_blank">NikKTech &amp; Synology Joint Giveaway - One DiskStation DS213+ Up For Grabs</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://techreport.com/review/24588/the-tr-podcast-131-news-from-gdc-and-fcat-attacks" target="_blank">The TR Podcast 131: News from GDC and FCAT attacks</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://techreport.com/blog/24577/dispatches-from-the-nexus" target="_blank">Dispatches from the Nexus @ The Tech Report</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://techreport.com/discussion/24592/amd-touts-unified-gaming-strategy" target="_blank">AMD touts unified gaming strategy @ The Tech Report</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://techreport.com/news/24600/intel-gets-serious-about-graphics-for-gaming" target="_blank">Intel gets serious about graphics for gaming @ The Tech Report</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/16nm-FinFET-ARM-processors-TSMC-soon" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/16nm-FinFET-ARM-processors-TSMC-soon#commentsGeneral Tech16nmarmCortex-A57FinFETTSMCTue, 02 Apr 2013 21:57:41 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom56895 at http://www.pcper.comApple looking to TSMC to replace Samsung as their fabhttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Apple-looking-TSMC-replace-Samsung-their-fab
<p><a href="http://apple.slashdot.org/story/13/01/02/1456253/tsmc-preparing-to-manufacturer-a6x-chip-as-apple-looks-to-ditch-samsung">According to the news we are hearing from Slashdot</a> and other sources, Apple has finally made the decision to move their chip fabrication from Samsung, for fairly obvious reasons, with TSMC being the lucky fab that will get their business.&nbsp; They are starting with the current A6X chip, shrinking it to 28nm for the initial run, with the contract for producing the new A7 series dependant on the success of TSMC&#39;s trial run.&nbsp; As the 28nm node is quite familiar to TSMC, barring any production issues that limit availability, they are very likely to win the contract.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/Apple-looking-TSMC-replace-Samsung-their-fab" class="inline-image-link" title="View: burning-bridge.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2013-01-02/burning-bridge.jpg" alt="burning-bridge.jpg" title="burning-bridge.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="247" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;The test will kick off in Q1 2013, The China Times reports, with TSMC producing a new, 28nm version of the existing 32nm A6X that Samsung has been producing for the full-sized iPad 4th-gen; the smaller chip, which will likely be more power efficient as well, will debut in a new iPad 5th-gen and iPad mini 2.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/feature/2232556/key-security-threats-to-protect-against-in-2013" target="_blank">Key security threats to protect against in 2013 @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://hackaday.com/2013/01/02/frankenstein-an-all-tube-home-theater-amplifier/" target="_blank">Frankenstein, an all-tube home theater amplifier @ Hack a Day</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Inside-the-Macintosh-Plus/1698" target="_blank">Inside the Macintosh Plus @ Hardware Secrets</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5118/kaiser_baas_photo_and_negative_scanner_review/index.html" target="_blank">Kaiser Baas Photo and Negative Scanner @ Tweaktown</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.dvhardware.net/review192_windows_8.html" target="_blank">Two months with Windows 8 @ DVHardware</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/3683/philips-hue-fancy-and-colourful-lighting-at-a-hefty-price" target="_blank">Philips Hue: Fancy and colourful lighting at a hefty price @ Hardware.Info</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2232296/top-10-most-innovative-gadgets-for-2013" target="_blank">Top 10 most innovative gadgets for 2013 @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/zardon/kitguru-annual-awards-2012/" target="_blank">KitGuru Annual Awards 2012</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.techspot.com/guides/626-tech-2012-year-in-review/" target="_blank">TechSpot: The Year in Tech, 2012 Top Tech Stories</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Apple-looking-TSMC-replace-Samsung-their-fab" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Apple-looking-TSMC-replace-Samsung-their-fab#commentsGeneral TechA6XappleSamsungTSMCWed, 02 Jan 2013 18:31:08 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom56183 at http://www.pcper.comExclusive partner is another word for single point of failurehttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Exclusive-partner-another-word-single-point-failure
<p>If you believe the rumours, TSMC recently turned down offers from both Apple and Qualcomm to make those companies the exclusive partner of TSMC&#39;s smartphone chip production.&nbsp; Now, that sort of deal does tend to line the pockets of the supplier quite nicely, as the customer must pay to recompense the lost business from other customers.&nbsp; It also gives the manufacturer the ability to specialize their production lines for one specific type of chip which will eventually bring the cost per wafer down.&nbsp; On the other hand, this type of deal can stifle innovation on a general level as the manufacturer doesn&#39;t need to worry about attracting other customers, nor designing fabrication plants capable of producing multiple types of chips.&nbsp; Then there is TSMC in specific, a company which has a long history of providing supplies to companies both sides of the war, be it GPU, CPU or a mixed chip.&nbsp; As arms dealers proved long ago it is far more profitable to sell to both sides than to only supply one belligerent.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120830VL200.html">Read DigiTimes take on this topic here</a>.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/Exclusive-partner-another-word-single-point-failure" class="inline-image-link" title="View: tsmc.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2012-08-30/tsmc.jpg" alt="tsmc.jpg" title="tsmc.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="402" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;A recent Bloomberg report cited unnamed sources as saying that Apple and Qualcomm had been rebuffed in separate attempts to invest cash in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in a bid to secure exclusive access to smartphone chips. Digitimes Research analyst Nobunaga Chai has commented saying that he sees no good reason why TSMC should accept the investment.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/29/linux_mac_trojan/" target="_blank">&#39;FIRST ever&#39; Linux, Mac OS X-only password sniffing Trojan spotted @ The Register</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://hackaday.com/2012/08/30/building-a-driver-for-absurdly-high-power-leds/" target="_blank">Building a driver for absurdly high power LEDs @ Hack a Day</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://semiaccurate.com/2012/08/29/another-nugget-on-amds-jaguar/" target="_blank">Another Nugget On AMD&rsquo;s Jaguar @ SemiAccurate</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/29/amd_jaguar_core_design/" target="_blank">AMD to double up cores with Jaguars @ The Register</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2201972/western-digital-slaps-two-velociraptor-drives-into-a-thunderbolt-case" target="_blank">Western Digital slaps two Velociraptor drives into a Thunderbolt case @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://semiaccurate.com/2012/08/28/intel-details-knights-corner-architecture-at-long-last/" target="_blank">Intel details Knights Corner architecture at long last @ SemiAccurate</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Exclusive-partner-another-word-single-point-failure" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Exclusive-partner-another-word-single-point-failure#commentsGeneral TechapplefabqualcommTSMCThu, 30 Aug 2012 18:38:30 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom55248 at http://www.pcper.comTSMC makes the future of 28nm a little brighterhttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-makes-future-28nm-little-brighter
<p>If you like NVIDIA and AMD&#39;s current 28nm process GPUs and future APUs, you should be very happy to hear that TSMC&#39;s current 28nm process is topping 80% yield.&nbsp; This means that the vast majority of silicon coming out of TSMC is good and the supply shortages we have had to become accustomed to are a thing of the past.&nbsp; This also bodes well for the upcoming AMD APUs which will most likely be using TSMC 28nm silicon.&nbsp; As well, <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120821PB200.html">DigiTimes has good news about the new Fab 15</a> which should vastly expand TSMC&#39;s production capability.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/TSMC-makes-future-28nm-little-brighter" class="inline-image-link" title="View: TSMC-1.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2012-08-22/TSMC-1.jpg" alt="TSMC-1.jpg" title="TSMC-1.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="550" height="394" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company&#39;s (TSMC) 28nm processes have topped a yield rate of 80%, the Chinese-language Commercial Times cited unnamed equipment suppliers as saying in a recent report. Meanwhile, the foundry&#39;s new 12-inch fab - Fab 15 - will have a capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch equivalent wafers in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the report.</p>
<p>Installed capacity at TSMC&#39;s Fab 15 thus far in the third quarter has expanded by about 300% sequentially, the report indicated. Fab 15 is identified as the major wafer fab where TSMC&#39;s foundry capacity for 28nm processes will be located.</p>
<p>TSMC will be able to satisfy all demand from its major clients including Qualcomm, Nvidia and AMD by the fourth quarter of 2012 as it manages to boost output of wafers processed using 28nm technology, the report believes.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2200384/netapp-offers-2tb-flash-cache-on-sans-after-signing-up-fusion-io" target="_blank">Netapp offers 2TB flash cache on SANs after signing up Fusion IO @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/21/amazon_data_archival_glacier/" target="_blank">Amazon tries to freeze out tape with cheap &#39;n&#39; cloudy Glacier @ The Register</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120821PD220.html" target="_blank">Micron uses TSMC 55nm process to make SATA 6G/s SSD controller ICs @ DigiTimes</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/4898/lian_li_factory_tour_video_what_goes_into_making_an_aluminum_chassis/index.html" target="_blank">Lian Li Factory Tour Video - What goes into making an Aluminum Chassis @ Tweaktown</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.techspot.com/article/564-deleted-facebook-account/" target="_blank">Why I Left Facebook After 7 Years, But Was Forced Back In @ Techgage</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.eteknix.com/competitions/win-one-of-three-antec-high-current-gamer-620m-power-supplies/" target="_blank">Win one of three Antec High Current Gamer 620M Power Supplies @ eTeknix</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-makes-future-28nm-little-brighter" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-makes-future-28nm-little-brighter#commentsGeneral Tech28nmTSMCWed, 22 Aug 2012 19:53:47 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom55172 at http://www.pcper.comARM, TSMC to Produce 64-bit Processors With 3D Transistorshttp://www.pcper.com/news/Processors/ARM-TSMC-Produce-64-bit-Processors-3D-Transistors
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Yesterday ARM announced a multi-year partnership with fab TSMC to produce sub-20nm processors that utilize 3D FinFET transistors. The collaboration and data sharing between the two companies will allow the fabless ARM SoC company the ability to produce physical processors based on its designs and will allow TSMC a platform to further its process nodes and FinFET transistor technology. The first TSMC-produced processors will be based on the <a href="http://www.arm.com/products/the-armv8-architecture-foundation-page-20111.php">ARMv8 architecture</a> and will be 64-bit compatible.</p>
<p class="rtecenter" style=""><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/Processors/ARM-TSMC-Produce-64-bit-Processors-3D-Transistors" class="inline-image-link" title="View: ARMv8.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2012-07-24/ARMv8.jpg" alt="ARMv8.jpg" title="ARMv8.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="387" /></a></div></p>
<p>The addition of 3D transistors will allow the ARM processors to be even more power efficient and suitable for both mobile devices. Alternatively, it could allow for higher clockspeeds at the same TDP ratings as current chips. The other big news is that the chips will be moving to a 64-bit compatible design, which is huge considering ARM processors have traditionally been 32-bit. By moving to 64-bit, ARM is positioning itself for server and workstation adoption, especially with the recent ARM-compatible Windows 8 build due to be released soon. Granted, ARM SoCs have a long way to go before taking market share from Intel and AMD in the desktop and server markets in a big way but it is slowly but surely becoming more competitive with the x86-64 giants.</p>
<p>TSMC&rsquo;s R&amp;D Vice President Cliff Hou stated that the collaboration between ARM and TSMC will allow TSMC to optimize its FinFET process to target &ldquo;high speed, low voltage and low leakage.&rdquo; ARM further qualified that the partnership would give ARM early access to the 3D transistor FinFET process that could help create advanced SoC designs and ramp up volume production.</p>
<p>I think this is a very positive move for ARM, and it should allow them to make much larger inroads into the higher-end computing markets and see higher adoption beyond mobile devices. On the other hand, it is going to depend on TSMC to keep up and get the process down. Considering the issues with creating enough 28nm silicon to meet demand for AMD and NVIDIA&rsquo;s latest graphics cards, a sub-20nm process may be asking a lot. Here&rsquo;s hoping that it&rsquo;s a successful venture for both companies, however.</p>
<p>You can find more information in <a href="http://www.arm.com/about/newsroom/arm-and-tsmc-collaborate-to-optimize-next-generation-64-bit-arm-processors-for-finfet-process.php">the full press release</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/Processors/ARM-TSMC-Produce-64-bit-Processors-3D-Transistors" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/Processors/ARM-TSMC-Produce-64-bit-Processors-3D-Transistors#commentsProcessors20nm3d transistors64-bitarmARMv8TSMCTue, 24 Jul 2012 16:07:34 +0000Tim Verry54927 at http://www.pcper.comAMD and NVIDIA are sticking with TSMChttp://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/AMD-and-NVIDIA-are-sticking-TSMC
<p>All of the speculation about the <a href="http://www.pcper.com/search/node/28nm">problems TSMC has had with their 28nm process</a> and the possible issues they might have producing enough wafers to meet their clients demands.&nbsp; Today we hear from DigiTimes that Qualcomm is going to switch to Samsung, possibly because TSMC was focusing on AMD and NVIDIA, but this is pure speculation at the moment.&nbsp; What seems more reliable is that GPU vendors are stating that both AMD and NVIDIA are sticking with TSMC which makes a lot of sense, even if TSMC has problems delivering it is a better alternative than AMD or NVIDIA redesigning their graphics processors to be compatible with Samsung&#39;s process.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120709PD200.html">The story also mentions that in 2013 Brazos 2.0 and Hondo will be moved to a 28nm design</a>, again likely sourced at TSMC.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/AMD-and-NVIDIA-are-sticking-TSMC" class="inline-image-link" title="View: waffle.jpg"><img src="/files/imagecache/article_max_width/news/2012-07-09/waffle.jpg" alt="waffle.jpg" title="waffle.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="550" height="550" /></a></div></p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;While Qualcomm has reportedly switched foundry orders for its 28nm-based Snapdragon S4 processors from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to Samsung Electronics because TSMC&#39;s 28nm capacity has failed to meet its needs, Nvidia and AMD may not follow suit, according to graphics card makers.</p>
<p>TSMC has the upper hand over Samsung in 28nm technology, yield rate and price and therefore changing foundry partnership involves high risks, the sources said. In addition, Nvidia is expected to consider Samsung&#39;s ARM-based processors in competition with its Tegra 3 processors, the sources indicated.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p>
<p><b><a href="http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54">Tech Talk</a></b></p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2190218/imagination-outs-powervr-g6230-g6430-gpus" target="_blank">Imagination outs PowerVR G6230 and G6430 GPUs @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2190273/microsoft-buys-multi-touch-specialist-perceptive-pixel" target="_blank">Microsoft buys multi-touch specialist Perceptive Pixel @ The Inquirer</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120709PD204.html" target="_blank">Microsoft Surface chassis suffers low yields @ DigiTimes</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-the-Intel-Virtualization-Technology/263" target="_blank">Everything You Need to Know About the Intel Virtualization Technology @ Hardware Secrets</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.techreviewsource.com/Software/bitdefender-total-security-2013" target="_blank">BitDefender Total Security 2013 Review @ TechReviewSource</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/07/06/july_patch_tuesday_pre_alert/" target="_blank">Microsoft&#39;s XML 0-day fix expected in July Patch Tuesday @ The Register</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.hardwareheaven.com/interviews.php?interviewid=33" target="_blank">Interview with AMD&#39;s Sasa Marinkovic @ HardwareHeaven</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/AMD-and-NVIDIA-are-sticking-TSMC" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/AMD-and-NVIDIA-are-sticking-TSMC#commentsGeneral Tech28nmamdnvidiarumourSamsungTSMCMon, 09 Jul 2012 20:32:09 +0000Jeremy Hellstrom54820 at http://www.pcper.com